Day-6 Answer Writing Challenge : Model Answer

Question: What are the various initiatives taken by the government for better urban transportation in India. 8 marks

Answer:

Indian cities are characterized by increasing levels of congestion, pollution, road accidents and inequality in access to mobility. The need for better urban mobility in order to build inclusive, safer and more sustainable cities cannot be underestimated.

PROBLEMS FACED BY URBAN TRANSPORT IN INDIA

1. Unprecedented Transport Growth: According to Niti Aayog, the number of registered motor vehicles has increased from 4 million in 1981, to 210 million in 2015 . This rapid growth in demand in the absence of widespread public transport system has caused a rapid increase of private car ownership in India.
2. Inadequate Public Transport: According to government data, there are about 19 lakh buses in the country and only 2.8 lakh of them are run either by state transport undertaking or under stage carriage China has about six buses for 1,000 people while India has only four buses per 10,000 people.
3. Urban Congestion: Major Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru are ranked among world’s most congested cities. These high levels of congestion have huge economic implications in the form of reduced productivity, fuel waste, and
4. Road safety- Traffic injuries and fatality: According to the Report ‘Road Accidents in India-2016’, road accidents in India have decreased by around 4.1% in 2016 from 2015. However, fatalities resulting from these accidents have risen by about 2%.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR BETTER URBAN TRANSPORTATION:

• National Urban Transport Policy, 2006: The policy envisages safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable urban transport through establishment of quality focused multi-modal public transport
• Green Urban Transport Scheme, 2016:. The scheme aims to improve non-motorised transport infrastructure such as dedicated lanes for cycling, pedestrians, increasing access to public transport, use of clean technologies and adoption of intelligent transport systems (ITS).
• Mass Rapid Transit/ Transport Systems (MRTS): The metro rail has come up as a favoured alternative of mass transport in Indian cities. In 2017, the government introduced new Metro Policy which aims to improve collaborations, standardising norms, financing and creating a procurement mechanism so that the projects can be implemented
• Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS): BRTS segregates the movement of buses from all other transport modes, and introduces other changes in the road infrastructure that are associated with
• National Transit Oriented Development Policy, 2017: The policy framework aims to promote living close to mass urban transit corridors like the Metros, monorail and bus rapid transit (BRT)
• Personal Rapid Transit System (PRT): It is a transport mode combining small automated vehicles, known as pods, operating on a network of specially built
• Promotion of Electric Vehicles: Indian Government plans to have an all-electric fleet of vehicles by For promotion of electric vehicles FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid &) Electric vehicles.

NITI AAYOG RECOMMENDATIONS TO BOOST MOBILITY IN URBAN AREAS:

It calls for a 3C Framework (Clean, Convenient and Congestion free) for transforming mobility in India.

• Connect Bharat: Safe, Adequate and Holistic Infrastructure (SAHI) for the Indian population including women, elderly and the
  • Increased emphasis on safety and
  • Leveraging multiple modes of transport – road, rail, coastal and inland waterways, small regional airports, ropeways
• Optimize Travel footprint: It calls for increased emphasis to reduce congestion caused by passenger and goods flow in urban
  • Focused policy-based measures for optimizing travel
  • Data-based measures such as intelligent transport
• Promote Seamless Public Transport: It calls for an efficient and convenient public transport to address the issue of air pollution and congestion in Indian
• Adopting Green Modes and Technologies: rapid adoption of electric vehicles and non-motorized transport (NMT).